Cigarettes and other tobacco products, along with medicines that are available only on prescription, can’t be product placed in any programmes.

Well, that's a gimme. Try to spot just a single tab on TV these days and you're probably watching something in Turkish via satellite, so a pack of 20 being 'placed' would call down the four horsemen of the apocalypse. As for prescription medicines, there's not a lot of point in advertising those anyway - the whole idea is that you don't choose them, they are chosen for you ... hence the 'prescribed' tag, so even the pharma bulldozer wouldn't contest that seeing as any placement would be useless to them (they'll just carry on bribing doctors instead). Similarly are guns and other weapons not allowed since the law already states they can't be advertised anyway.

It's a different case for these though.

Alcoholic drinks, gambling products, all other types of medicines, food and drink that is high in fat, salt, or sugar and baby milk can’t be product placed in UK programmes.

All the above are currently permitted to be advertised on TV, but are excluded in Ofcom's regulations for placement within TV programmes. They're not on the approved list, so they're not getting in.

The hipsters on Hollyoaks aren't to be seen sipping from prominent bottles of WKD, or munching on a packet of Walkers, while daytime TV shows aimed at mums are banned from placing perfectly legal - and advertisable - SMA.

It's more than a coincidence that these products have been heavily targeted for ad bans by quangoes, fake charities and lobby groups so beloved of the Labour bansturbatory mindset.

The mooted booze ad ban is most recent, and will likely still be introduced at some point.

There should be a ban on all alcohol advertising, including sports and music sponsorship, doctors say.

The British Medical Association said the crackdown on marketing was needed, along with an end to cut-price deals, to stop rising rates of consumption.

The 'breast is best' mafia have been throwing bigger tantrums over formula baby milk ads than the babies they worry about, for quite a while now.

No new ban on baby milk adverts

The government has ruled out a total ban on the promotion of baby milks. It is a blow to charities who ardently promote breastfeeding and who wanted a ban on marketing milk for newborns to include milk for older babies.

All legal; all legally able to advertise on TV; all banned from product placement due to vested interest pressure and health-led political correctness.

So while the US happily places all manner of products which we will see in films and transatlantic imports on our TV screens, our response is to ban many of our own multi-national producers from reciprocating in UK shows which are syndicated throughout the world ... all on the say-so of righteous tax-sucking burdens on our country's finances.

Way to go shooting our global industries in the foot, Westminster. You berks.

The whole baby milk thing has been niggling at me on and off for years. It's one of the earliest of the "second tier" righteous campaigns and deeply entrenched, always slow-burning along slightly outside the spotlight.

I've never seen any evidence presented regarding what actually was going on in Africa or wherever with baby milk, only histrionic "testimony" of the classic Proggie type.

I'd love to know what the actual facts were. Knowing what we know about the Enemy, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was entirely made up. But all I relaly know is that gorgeous George Galloway's front group, War On Want were heavily involved in promoting the moral panic, which should be a giant red flag all by itself.

Ian B: I suspect much of the 'breast is best' campaign can be attributable to the fact that companies are making money out of something which can be provided free. The refrain when restrictive legislation is denied is always of the same variety.

True Dick, but the anti-capitalist thing is common to all their campaigns, the interesting thing is why they choose some products and not others. There's obviously a strong "earth mother" cohort pushing the titmilk campaign, and they've been at it a long while, and the justifying narrative is the "Nestle killed millions babies in Africa" narrative.

I just would like to know what really happened, because everythign one can read about it is basically activist propaganda.

Dominic: Hey, some things are allowed. It's just that only the twee suburbanites from Harrogate and Purley will be interested while they watch some plastic smile pasted sleb talking gobshite. First instance was coffee on This Morning, I believe - kinda proves it ... nice and safe.

Ian B: Interesting. I'll have to look deeper then, I don't doubt for a second that you're on the right lines.

It's terrible how far down the road we've come with the smoking ban on telly.

Occasionally they show something more than five or ten years old with people smoking. Indoors. In somebody's house. Or even - horrors - in a restaurant or pub, and it even strikes me as a bit strange, and I worry that my children will ask incredulously whether people were still allowed to do that (they having been most righteously brainwashed at school).

How would young Mums know what milk to buy if it was not advertised.7I am 32 with 3 children and the thought of 'breast is best' make me feel quite sick.All my friends think the same. It is something that wild animals do as they do not have access to formula milk. Quite a barbaric practice and revolting.I am sure that it is men that call for this practice as it stops the woman looking attractive with a child hanging off their body. Ugh.

Not sure about the UK, but in particular other countries an approved “product” for placement is the “no smoking” graphic. In particular programs, the NS graphic appears at least a certain number of times. It is well-framed, usually right next to the primary actor’s head – can’t miss it. Government (taxpayer)-funded antismoking groups pay for placement of their “product”.

Ian B, I'm also fascinated by the whole breast milk thing. A few years ago I read a paper suggesting that all the claimed advantage was in fact due to hidden confounding with various aspects of being middle class. It was written by a woman who appeared to be vary competent. One of the London universities I think. Can't remember her name. Of course The bonkers women went ape shit.I also think there is a very strong connection between hatred of bottle feeding and hatred of caesarean births. I don't mix with mad women, so I've never got close to figuring out what's going on.